Brexit minister Steve Baker takes a drubbing from Andrew Neil

Watch: Baker was taken to task over claims by fellow Tory MPs that Jeremy Corbyn has betrayed his country.

It’s a tough job taking the flak for the various Tory MPs who have been piling in to the Corbyn Czech spy row, but someone has to do it.

And, on the Daily Politics, the job fell to Brexit minister Steve Baker.

Baker was asked six times to explain how Corbyn had betrayed his country and he failed to answer each time.

“Surely the real scandal isn’t what Mr Corbyn has done or not done, it’s the outright lies and disinformation that your fellow Tories are spreading,” said Andrew Neil. “That’s the real scandal isn’t it?”

Baker said he believed Corbyn was a “grave danger” to the country but avoided repeating the language of Gavin Williamson, Ben Wallace and Ben Bradley.

“I’m not going to accuse my colleagues of lies or disinformation, they will need to defend what they’ve said,” he added.

But while opponents of the Tories will have enjoyed seeing a minister made to squirm, for many viewers the highlight of the interview will have been when Andrew Gwynne tried to join in the attack - and was promptly told that his services were not required.

Half way through the interrogation, the Labour MP had jumped in to declare: "This is classic dead cat strategy isn’t it. The government’s on the ropes on a whole range of issues…"

To which Neil replied: "I’ve got the government on the ropes and you just interrupted. So let me try and keep him on the ropes."

“Has he betrayed his country?” asks @afneil[1] after claim from defence secretary about the Labour leader

"Jeremy Corbyn, I think, is a grave danger to this country because of the ideas in which he believes and what that would mean..." @SteveBakerHW[2]